A controversial new law in Mississippi, House Bill 599, will take effect on July 1, 2025, giving residents the power to sue adult content platforms over alleged violations tied to “obscene” material accessible online. The law expands upon the state’s 2023 age verification requirements and introduces civil liability for commercial entities that fail to comply with its new standards.

Under the law, passed by the Mississippi Legislature and signed by Governor Tate Reeves on April 10, a private right of action is granted to individuals who claim to have been harmed by content defined as either “obscene” or involving “child pornography” or “child sexual exploitation”—terms now codified under Section 11-77-3 of the Mississippi Code.

Key Provisions of HB 599:

Civil lawsuits can be brought against commercial entities that “knowingly and intentionally publish or distribute” content meeting the statutory definitions of obscene matter or child pornography/exploitation online.

Plaintiffs may seek:

• • Nominal and actual damages
  • Up to $500,000 in non-economic damages
  • Punitive damages for especially reckless or malicious conduct
  • Attorney fees and court costs

Commercial entities may be sued individually or via class actions if claims meet typical legal standards for joinder.

Internet service providers (ISPs), search engines, and cloud services are protected under Section 11-77-7 from liability so long as they are not responsible for the creation of the content in questionHB0599SG.

The law explicitly exempts bona fide news and public interest reporting from these provisions.

Content is deemed “material harmful to minors” if it includes patently offensive sexual depictions and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

Critics, including First Amendment attorney Corey Silverstein, argue that the law constitutes a clear case of speech suppression, noting that it invites private citizens to enforce subjective moral standards through civil courts, much like similar laws passed in Utah and Kansas.

“Mississippi wants to control what type of content people can view online,” Silverstein told AVN. “They make it clear that basically all pornography should be considered obscene and thus not entitled to First Amendment protection.”

By relying on a “bounty-style” enforcement model, the state aims to sidestep constitutional challenges that would typically arise from direct government enforcement. Instead, it empowers private parties to file lawsuits, an approach designed to shield the law from immediate First Amendment challenges.

The statute also includes a severability clause, meaning that if part of the law is struck down, the remainder may still stand.

With its July 1 effective date approaching, HB 599 is expected to place significant legal pressure on adult websites and digital content platforms accessible in Mississippi. Many companies may face a difficult choice: adopt strict age-verification and content moderation systems or risk costly litigation from private citizens.

Whether the law will survive judicial scrutiny remains to be seen. But as of now, Mississippi joins a growing number of U.S. states implementing aggressive, privately enforced content regulation aimed at curbing minors’ access to adult material, potentially setting the stage for broader national legal battles over speech, age verification, and online privacy.